Canada

OTTAWA: Canada’s benchmark home price fell by the most in nearly a decade last month as Toronto led a fourth straight decline in sales. The nationwide benchmark home price declined 1.5 percent to C$607,100 ($476,000) from June, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Tuesday, the largest drop since the previous recession. In Toronto, the country’s largest city, the price fell ... Read More »

TORONTO: Lending to Canadian small businesses rose for a fifth straight month in June on stronger activity in construction and other major industries, data showed on Tuesday, suggesting that companies are adding to solid growth in the domestic economy. The PayNet Small Business Lending Index rose to 123.8 in June from 122.0 the month before, while the annual gain accelerated ... Read More »

OTTAWA: Following sharp declines in March and April, Canadian oil supplies saw a slight rebound in May, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which issued its monthly report on the oil market on Friday. Output fell by a total of 650,000 bbls/d over the past two months to 4.35 million bbls/d, according to the latest consolidated data published by ... Read More »

OTTAWA: Canada’s national pension plan owned assets worth $326.5 billion at the end of June, a nearly $10-billion increase in three months despite a weakening Canadian dollar that dragged down results. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) invests funds on behalf of 20 million Canadian workers and retirees included in the Canada Pension Plan. The board’s job is to ... Read More »

OTTAWA: In July 2017, the Bank of Canada released a discussion paper outlining a framework for the assessment of risks and opportunities for central banks in connection with Fintech. This paper also more generally explores potential implications of Fintech for central banks, given their mandate over monetary policy, the design and distribution of currency and/or financial stability. One of the ... Read More »

OTTAWA: The Canadian stock market has been fluctuating between small gains and losses since the open of trade Wednesday, but is little changed overall. The rising tensions between North Korea and the United States has investors concerned this morning. A number of Canadian sectors are trading in the red this morning. However, the geopolitical concerns has provided a boost to ... Read More »

OTTAWA: Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) Director David Ian Mckay sold 5,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The fund owned 86,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,860 shares during the period. On Friday, May 19th, David Ian Mckay sold 3,578 shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock. Lincluden ... Read More »

OTTAWA: China and Canada have broadly agreed what should be included in a future free trade agreement, after a third round of “exploratory” talks. The two nations held intensive five-day negotiations in Beijing between July 31 and August 4. Both sides exchanged views on the joint feasibility study report and each other’s expectation on the future free trade agreement, and ... Read More »

TOKYO: Petroleum Exploration (Japex) said it started bitumen production from the Hangingstone oil sands expansion project in Alberta, Canada, last Thursday. The project’s output stood at around 1,000 barrels per day (bpd) and is expected to reach full output of 20,000 bpd in the second half of 2018, Japex Managing Executive Officer Michiro Yamashita told reporters while releasing first-quarter results ... Read More »

OTTAWA: Trust Department MB Financial Bank N A maintained its position in Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock at the end of the second quarter. Trust Department MB Financial Bank N A’s ... Read More »

VANCOUVER: LNG Canada, a joint venture led by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, is aiming for an investment decision next year on building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal on British Columbia’s coast, its chief executive said on Thursday. Andy Calitz said work on the up to C$40 billion ($31.79 billion) project is “extremely active” and has not been slowed ... Read More »

OTTAWA: Santos is understood to have drafted in Royal Bank of Canada to sell the company’s oil and gas assets in Asia, sources say. In the region, Santos owns a suite of non-core assets that caught the eye of a number of suitors almost two years ago when it embarked on a strategic review of its portfolio. Santos risked collapse ... Read More »

OTTAWA: Canadian auto sales rose 4.9 percent in July as the industry benefited from strong economic growth, even as U.S. sales fell for a fifth consecutive month, according to data released on Tuesday. Global Automakers of Canada President David Adams said he expects the growth to continue, which should enable Canada to post record full-year auto sales in 2017. “The ... Read More »

NUNAVUT: Nunavut’s economy will grow by 6.4 per cent in 2017—due to mining and construction. With four mines expected to reach operation by 2020, the Conference Board of Canada forecasts a steady expansion in Nunavut’s gross domestic product, or GDP, which has been rebounding since a drop in 2014. “Metal mining is the single largest contributor to economic growth, and ... Read More »

OTTAWA: The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) just announced that its personal banking clients are now the first in Canada who can ask Siri to pay their bills on iPhone and iPad using RBC Mobile app. RBC has also launched seamless Interac e-Transfer® payments within iMessage, which means clients can send a transfer without leaving their iMessage window. Building on ... Read More »

OTTAWA: Egg production in Canada is on the rise, increasing 4.4 percent in the last year. Statistics Canada, the nation’s statistics agency, says Canadian egg producers generated 64.5 million dozen eggs from May 2016 to May this year. Placement of hatchery chicks on farms rose four percent to 65.5 million birds from June 2016 to June 2017 and stocks of ... Read More »

OTTAWA: In the March, 2017, federal budget, Finance Minister Bill Morneau vowed to close loopholes that were allowing the wealthy to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Now, the government has unveiled measures that target private corporations, a category that includes the majority of Canada’s physicians. They are up in arms, and rightfully so. Incorporation is the creation of ... Read More »

OTTAWA: The Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) came into force on Tuesday with expectations that it will boost bilateral trade as well as increase investment and create new jobs in Ukraine. The CUFTA immediately eliminates tariffs on 98 percent of Ukraine’s exports. The east European country’s export-oriented sectors such as agriculture, chemical, metallurgy and machine-building industries are expected to benefit ... Read More »

OTTAWA: Canada’s addiction to real estate goes far beyond our obsession with talking about it. Our economy actually relies more on the fees associated with buying and selling houses than it does on agriculture, fishing, forestry and hunting combined. Real estate commissions, land transfer taxes, legal costs and fees for inspecting and surveying homes make up almost two per cent ... Read More »

ALBERTA: Canada’s struggling oil market has found something of a lifeline as traders scramble for heavy crude due to Opec production cuts and sinking Latin American output. Output has fallen in Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-Opec Latin American countries such as Mexico and Colombia, leading refiners as far away as China to look to Alberta’s oil sands ... Read More »